


The Star of My Heart

by krispy_kream



Category: EXO (Band)
Genre: Awkward Flirting, First Dates, Flirting, Fluff, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-26
Updated: 2018-08-26
Packaged: 2019-07-02 02:55:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 14,909
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15787521
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/krispy_kream/pseuds/krispy_kream
Summary: There are publicity stunts and then there’s… whatever this is. Kyungsoo isn’t sure which is which anymore.Takostation round 3 For prompt #117





	1. Date #1

**Author's Note:**

> **For Takostation round 3, prompt #117**
> 
>  
> 
> OP, I saw this prompt and it was like I was struck by lightning I loved it so much. So much, actually, that it got a little out of hand lol I had a ton of fun writing it so I really hope you enjoy reading it!
> 
> All my gratitude and also my life to my betas; thank you for lending me your brilliance and, at times, your sanity.

It’s 11:52 in the evening and Kyungsoo has a paper due in 8 minutes. He’ll be fine, he’s just not proofreading it as well as he should be. There’s no saving this disaster of an essay anyway, he should have started eight days ago rather than eight hours, but there are words that take up several pages and that’s all anyone could reasonably expect out of him.

He takes a headphone out of one ear to let himself breathe for a second, but leaves one in to keep listening to his music. He’s not about to turn it off anytime soon; LOEY’s latest mini-album has been a godsend this week and he’s had it on loop all day to keep him focused and motivated. That groovy infusion of piano and bass mixed with Park Chanyeol’s sweet vocals: brilliance. Was there any sound LOEY couldn’t pull off?

God, it was a great album. He’d bought… a few. Each copy came with a code to enter into a stupid contest that he wasn’t going to win but had to enter anyway. At least he hadn’t bought as many as some of his mutuals (only because he knew he’d need the money for the next wave of goods that were coming out). He isn’t that far gone.

That’s a lie, Kyungsoo is 100% gone on LOEY. The pop-idol-gone-actor has had a hold on Kyungsoo’s heart ever since he caught his mother watching Teacher’s Pet back when he was still in high school. All of LOEY’s expressions, especially his smile, had been so earnest and endearing that Kyungsoo had sat and watched it with her just to see more. And his acting has only improved over time. Kyungsoo is an actor himself, it’s what he’s in university for, and seeing his growth is such an inspiration. It’s the first time anything has moved him so strongly.

It took 3 months for Kyungsoo to even realize LOEY was an idol and that’s when it was really over for him.

And now here he is, in a dorm room in Seoul, posters plastered all over his walls, a whole shelf devoted to photo books, Yeolie doll hidden securely under his comforter, trying to turn in a paper at 11:58 pm. Why was this website so slow, was his entire class turning in their papers right now? While he waits for the file to upload Kyungsoo clicks over to his email to get rid of the spam that had built up. There’s a new email at the top of the list, sent two minutes ago, flagged as “important” from SM Entertainment.

Kyungsoo’s hands freeze over his mouse and keyboard. No no no, there’s no way. It’s probably fanclub stuff. He goes back to the school website and stares at his document preview, but his mind is forcibly blank. Nope, no way, no sense getting his hopes up, it’s just fanclub spam, definitely innocuous. He almost doesn’t look at the email, so convinced is he that it couldn’t be what he thinks it is.

But the first word of the subject line had been “congratulations.”

“No fucking way,” Kyungsoo mutters as he goes back to his email, his face so close to the screen he’ll probably see stars later.

_Do Kyungsoo, congratulations!_ , the email reads.

“Oh my god.”

_You’ve been selected as a winner of our grand prize-_

“Oh my _fucking_ god.”

_A romantic date with the starlight of our hearts, LOEY!_

Kyungsoo slams his laptop closed without reading the rest.

This isn’t happening. He isn’t supposed to _win_ , he was just supposed to enter the contest and then daydream helplessly about dating his idol and role model without actually having to tackle the fact that he’s legitimately attracted to him. The daydream date would have been so picturesque, Kyungsoo effortlessly charming LOEY, the two of them talking for hours, ditching the company paid date to go somewhere private and maybe even-No, nope, not going there, now is not the time to be creepy. Especially now that he’ll have to actually string words together in a coherent manner in front of LOEY without completely embarrassing himself. He can already hear the Mission Impossible theme.

“Yup,” he says to his empty room and just goes to bed, paper forgotten.

-

_I’m having a crisis,_ he texts Jongin the next morning while trying to actually read the damn email. There’s stuff he has to actually _do_ for it; confirm his address, agree to terms and conditions, sign a release form, but just trying to read it is freaking him out.

_Crisis machine broke, try again later,_ Jongin texts back, only because they both know Kyungsoo only gets dramatic about LOEY.

**Kyungsoo:**  
This is serious.

**Jongin:**  
are we still talking about loey

**Kyungsoo:**  
Yes.  
It’s serious, I need you to come over before I pass out

**Jongin:**  
did you get into a fansign?

**Kyungsoo:**  
Bigger.

**Jongin:**  
w h a t

He doesn’t even attempt to explain it. When Jongin arrives at his dorm he just shows him the email without a word.

“Oh my god, is this real!?” Jongin cries as he scrolls through it, taking in the legal text, the company logo plastered everywhere, the official fanclub email that sent it in the first place.

“I figured we should start writing my will,” Kyungsoo says to feign calm, staring at anything other than that fucking email.

Jongin whips around to look at him.

“You’re going, right? You can’t not go.”

“Of course I’m fucking going,” Kyungsoo scoffs. “I didn’t buy twenty-eight albums for nothing.”

“You look like you don’t want to go.”

“I’m,” Kyungsoo swallows. “... nervous.”

Jongin laughs at him.

“What? Come on, just tell him you love him,” he says like it’s an easy thing.

“No, I can’t fuck this up, I have to show him I’m genuine, this is my chance,” Kyungsoo tells him, can feel himself coiling up and freaking out the same way he already has three times this morning. Fansigns were nothing; this was real, honest to god social interactions, prime opportunity to set himself apart and connect with the single most important person in his life!

“Yes, because you’re so good at dating,” Jongin says with a roll of his eyes, chopping up Kyungsoo’s panic attack into an indignant mess.

“I’ve dated,” he says.

“Yeah, but never long enough for them to find out about LOEY,” Jongin reminds him.

Kyungsoo opens his mouth, but no words are forthcoming because he doesn’t have any. So he shuts his mouth and glowers instead.

It’s funny, honestly, because even on this stupid fake date with LOEY himself, Kyungsoo is planning on hiding his LOEY-fan side. It’s just, it’s too much, he feels like an idiot a lot of the time. But then he’ll see LOEY’s big, dumb puppy-dog face with that thousand watt smile and Kyungsoo will melt so hard he can’t possibly bring himself to truly be ashamed of the merch and the fandom and the flutter in his chest and...

He’s fucked.

“How long is it?” Jongin muses, scanning over the email once more. “If only it were a multi-day thing, you make kind of a weird first impression.”

Every function in Kyungsoo’s brain grinds to a halt.

“… I’m fucked.”

“That’s why I’m saying, just tell him you love him right off the bat, set the tone,” Jongin insists.

Kyungsoo flops heavily back onto his bed and stares blankly up at the ceiling.

“Just tell my mother I love her.”

They make him a list. They’re not talking points, exactly, just a list of things Kyungsoo loves about LOEY, things he hopes LOEY knows, the acting roles that affected him the most. Four years of intense emotions is a lot to sort through but that’s why they do it now instead of… during the date itself. Kyungsoo has two weeks to parse the list down into things he’s willing to say out loud, and things better left to a fan letter that may never get read.

Two weeks. Kyungsoo feels like he needs two years to emotionally prepare himself.

-

He’s not ready, he’s not _fucking ready_ , but he’s here at the SM Town building in an outfit Jongin and Sehun picked out for him, his hair done up in that swoop Sehun thinks is cool, emergency glasses in the pocket next to his phone, and signed paperwork in his hands, blessedly not crinkled in his death grip on the envelope. He’s skipping class for this, he would skip his own wedding for this, he’s never wanted anything more in his entire life, but it is. Terrifying.

It’s not his first time at the SM Town building, but it looks so different today, more foreboding, like he really will just pass out if he walks through the doors.

LOEY is worth the risk.

The receptionist smiles at him and greets him by name (it must be painfully obvious why he’s there). Kyungsoo can’t answer more than a nod but that doesn’t seem to bother her. She does all the talking for him as she takes his paperwork and leads him to the elevators, reminding him of the event rules and what to expect. It’s all the same information that was in the emails, but it fills the silence without needing Kyungsoo to pay attention. And thank god for that, honestly, because trying to respond to small talk with a stranger is definitely beyond him right now. She scans her badge at the elevators to head up to a higher floor, and leads him down a hall lined with promo posters. Kyungsoo knows some of the bands… sort of. He’s really only in this for LOEY, so he didn’t realize SM had so many other artists and it’s a little surreal that he’s here where the magic actually happens. Then they pass by a poster for LOEY’s Artificial Love album, Kyungsoo’s first comeback, and he almost has an emotional breakdown over it. He wants to ask the receptionist if they can stop and take a picture, playing it cool be damned, but he also can’t form words right now so maybe his nerves did him a favor.

Kyungsoo isn’t watching where they’re going at all. He really hopes the receptionist never leaves him because he wouldn’t be able to navigate his way back out of the building if his life depended on it. He’s in such a daze he barely registers that she stops and knocks on a door and then suddenly-

“Kyungsoo-ssi is here.”

He’s there, LOEY, Park Chanyeol, his little Yeolie, standing at the center of the room, surrounded by managers and stylists and photographers, most of whom Kyungsoo recognizes from the fancams. He’s got his hair done up to show off his forehead and he’s dressed in tight black jeans and a colorful button down that Kyungsoo recognizes from a legendary boyfriend-look magazine shoot. He looks even taller in person; taller and more beautiful and infinitely more intimidating and Kyungsoo can’t decipher if he’s choking back tears or forgetting how to breathe or if his body has just completely shut down because this is the peak of his existence and nothing else will ever top this.

LOEY smiles automatically, of course, but then he does that thing, Kyungsoo’s favorite thing, where his eyes go a little wide and his mouth skews a bit to the side like it does when he genuinely wants to smile instead of has to. He sees Kyungsoo and _really_ smiles.

Kyungsoo forces his mouth shut.

“Kyungsoo!” LOEY cries, making a bee-line for Kyungsoo and reaching out to take Kyungsoo’s hand and give it a shake. “There’s my handsome date. Man, I feel like I’m the one who won this contest.”

LOEY is beaming at him. Kyungsoo doesn’t really remember what air is anymore. Cameras are going off, but he doesn’t have enough spacial awareness to tell where or how many.

“Uh,” is the only thing that comes out of Kyungsoo’s mouth.

LOEY chuckles at him with that precious lopsided smile, still holding Kyungsoo’s hand in his. He leans down to speak softly to Kyungsoo, quiet enough that the managers and the cameras can’t catch it.

“Relax, we just called it a date to drum up enthusiasm,” he says in what is probably supposed to be a reassuring tone.

Oh god, this is already a disaster, he’s not _ready._

“ _Uh_?” Kyungsoo says again, the sound punching out of him in his panic.

LOEY grins at him and it’s the weird kind that’s halfway between obligatory and because he wants to that always makes Kyungsoo feel a bit conflicted, makes him worry about if he’s happy, if he’s really doing what he wants, if he’s truly satisfied with the work he’s doing. Kyungsoo imagines the idol industry is more than anyone really signed up for and it physically hurts to think LOEY may be stifled and suffering the way others have before him.

More importantly, Kyungsoo just got friend-zoned and they haven’t even left the building yet.

LOEY stands back up and turns to his manager who is looking through the paperwork and reminding everyone about the itinerary but Kyungsoo can’t hear anything because LOEY is still holding his hand. It probably has something to do with how Kyungsoo has made no move to take his hand back and he wonders if he should risk closing his fingers around LOEY’s or if that would be too much.

In the end, he just leaves his hand limp in LOEY’s grasp, and LOEY doesn’t let go until the stylists drag Kyungsoo away to put makeup on his face. (Just a little, they assure him, because the cameras are so high res.)

Kyungsoo doesn’t remember breathing in or out at any point since stepping inside the building, but somehow he survives long enough to be shepherded down to the parking garage and into LOEY’s giant jeep. It’s a “date” so LOEY is driving while the rest of the staff follows along in a familiar black van, but a manager slips into the back seat of the jeep, just in case.

Kyungsoo stares at the tiny plush dog keychain that dangles from the rearview mirror, tries to anchor himself on this thing that’s soft and endearing and he knows is real from that one blurry fancam from a year ago, but then LOEY clamors into the driver’s seat and starts grinning at him again, like he’s excited to hang out with Kyungsoo and Kyungsoo thinks he should probably try to… answer that enthusiasm. Hasn’t he been telling himself for the last two weeks that this is his chance?

His throat is so dry and also apparently broken now. Jury is still out on whether he is still alive.

“Kyungsoo!” LOEY starts excitedly once he has them on the road. “Oh wait, how old are you?”

“You’re a little older than me,” Kyungsoo tells him because he kind of doesn’t remember how old he is at this point.

“Am I? Well then don’t worry about it,” he says with the ease of an old friend.

And what a relief, honestly, because Kyungsoo is so accustomed to thinking of him as “Yeolie” or “Chanyeol-ah” and it would feel like such a back-asswards thing to try to call him “hyung” of all things. But he’s also been forcing himself to think of him as “LOEY” all day, which is not a thing he ever does.

“Oh, what should I call you…” Kyungsoo kind of mumbles, embarrassed he has to ask at all.

LOEY’s countenance is as easy as ever as he says, “Whatever you want. You can call me Loey if you’re used to it, I don’t think of it as fake.”

“Ah, Loey is your on-the-clock name, so I guess I should-”

“Then call me Chanyeol,” he says before Kyungsoo can finish. “I don’t want you getting all worked up just because I’m an idol or anything, let’s just be two dudes being pals.”

It’s ridiculous to him that Chanyeol can just say things like that so easily, as if the two of them could ever just be two dudes, as if there aren’t a million miles and pay grades between them. Kyungsoo appreciates the sentiment, he really does, but the reality is too stark; there’s a chaperone in the back seat and a black van full of staff following closely in the rearview mirror. He’s surrounded by reminders of how forced this whole setting is. He can’t even dream of being “just friends hanging out” with Chanyeol.

“Just two dudes surrounded by cameras, sure,” Kyungsoo mutters.

But Chanyeol just smirks and says, “They’re pretty good looking dudes, they must get that a lot.”

And Kyungsoo doesn’t want to laugh at that, he’s trying to be upset okay, but Chanyeol is glancing at him with an expectant smile and it is funny in an incredibly stupid way and it’s-

It’s real. He’s real and here and talking to him. Kyungsoo bites the inside of his mouth to keep from breaking out into a grin.

“When will Korea learn that they’re both more than a pretty face,” Kyungsoo sighs, sinking back into his seat to be dramatic.

Chanyeol barks a laugh in that way he does when he’s not expecting a joke and he doesn’t have time to hold it in. Kyungsoo didn’t think it was that funny, but Chanyeol is back to grinning like he means it, his whole body practically buzzing in excitement.

It’s infectious.

“Sorry, I’m just excited, I know it’s dumb,” Chanyeol babbles, stupid grin still plastered on his face.

“What do you mean?”

“It’s just, I know I have male fans, but it makes me so happy when I get to meet one.”

Chanyeol is notorious for calling out male fans at every opportunity and Kyungsoo feels a swell of pride every time, at being acknowledged, at choosing the right idol, at knowing Chanyeol loves him as a fan, even on a superficial level. Kyungsoo smiles to himself.

“There’s not many of us, but we’re here.”

“Yeah,” Chanyeol says, suddenly calm, his smile softening. “You’re here.”

Kyungsoo isn’t sure what to make of it.

Their first stop is a coffee shop. They both have a good laugh at the predictability of it, but Kyungsoo is secretly grateful; the normalcy of the setting just means there’s one less thing to be nervous about (even if caffeine is the last thing he needs with his nerves the way they are). It’s on the fancier side; more pretentious than functional. It looks like a cafe right out of a movie which, considering the photographers right behind them, is probably the point. There’s a small line inside of almost exclusively office workers in full suits, most of whom don’t seem to know or care who Chanyeol is. Small miracles.

“Is this your go-to?” Kyungsoo tries asking as they wait.

“Actually, I go to a cart about 2 blocks from here. I guess the lady’s daughter is a fan of mine so I like to say hi.”

Of course Chanyeol would prioritize making a fan happy over any practical reason to frequent a coffee cart. Kyungsoo assumes the woman who runs it is also a fan by now, Chanyeol just has that effect on people.

“Cart coffee is better anyway,” Kyungsoo offers.

“You think so too?” Chanyeol asks like he’s excited they agree. Then he lets his shoulders droop for just a moment. “But we gotta stick with this one, we told them we were coming and they’re saving us a seat with a good vantage for the cameras.”

Kyungsoo turns and spies a corner booth by the window that’s roped off with a little placard on the table that reads “reserved.” The photographers wait outside by the window while the manager who had been in the car with them takes a seat at a table close by.

“Ah, right. Lest I forget this isn’t a real date,” he muses.

Chanyeol shrugs.

“Think of it more like my everyday.”

Kyungsoo’s chest lurches unpleasantly. Fuck, he had been getting salty about it after not even two hours while this was every moment of Chanyeol’s life. And this was just with standard staff; they hadn’t even been discovered by fansites or the media, they were still able to move with relative freedom. He’s seen the mobs who show up to the airport, has been in the crowd more than once camped out in front of a music show. He saw the kind of pictures fansites managed to capture of Chanyeol in all states of dress and preparedness, waiting at the airport, out with friends, just trying to get home.

“… Sorry,” Kyungsoo mumbles.

“What?”

“The fancams,” he clarifies. “That’s… they’re frustrating.” He pauses a moment, then admits, “but I still look at pictures…”

Chanyeol gives him a hearty laugh.

“I mean, it’s part of the gig I guess,” he assures him, but there’s a forced tint to his smile. “Some days I’m more forgiving than others.”

Kyungsoo can think of a few photos he’s seen where that’s obvious. He’d unfollowed those fansites, but everything ends up on his twitter timeline eventually no matter what he does.

But Kyungsoo isn’t here to stew in guilt over fandom culture.

“You always look good, if that makes you more forgiving,” he offers.

“Oh yeah?” Chanyeol smirks and tips himself closer and, honestly, is he trying to kill Kyungsoo right now?

“Maybe next time they catch me I’ll smile for the cameras, since I know you’ll be looking.”

Kyungsoo reels. He really has no idea how he’s supposed to respond to _that_ , but it doesn’t matter because he can’t fucking breathe.

A moment later Chanyeol is laughing again and smacking at Kyungsoo’s shoulder.

“Ah, but you don’t count, you’re biased!”

Kyungsoo coughs to open up his throat and get his lungs back in working order.

“Excuse me, my opinion is the most important,” he croaks out.

They both laugh, and if Kyungsoo’s laughter is mostly fueled by panic, Chanyeol doesn’t need to know.

They order and take their seats at the reserved table. Kyungsoo isn’t sure what he ordered, didn’t even bother trying to read the menu, but if it was stupid then Chanyeol doesn’t call him out on it. His leg bounces restlessly under the table. He feels like he’s already had six shots of espresso and their drinks aren’t even ready yet. There’s a pause in the conversation that Chanyeol has been carrying from the start and Kyungsoo has no idea what to do about it.

Luckily it’s not because Chanyeol is out of ideas.

“How are you feeling?” he asks. “Still nervous?”

“That is not a thing that is going to stop…” Kyungsoo says. He shakes his leg out a bit to calm down his fidgeting, but there’s no controlling it.

“Fair. You know, I was relieved when I saw you.”

Kyungsoo stops fidgeting.

“I thought it’d be a little kid who’d spend the whole time crying and calling me oppa,” Chanyeol admits with that sort of joke-y, bashful smile that Kyungsoo loves so much.

He knows the type. They’re not bad fans, just young with different priorities, and Kyungsoo has a hard time connecting with them. He has a hard time connecting with anyone much younger than him so he knows that relief. But it’s not like he doesn’t harbor a small fan like that within himself as well.

“I mean, I could do that. I am a fan, _oppa_ ,” Kyungsoo says, glancing up at Chanyeol through his lashes and forgetting that his brows are too strong to make it the demure, flirty gesture that he intended.

Chanyeol practically _jumps_ ; he clutches his chest and gasps like he’s been shot, his eyes wide.

“You’re not allowed to say the word “oppa,” your voice is too deep and sexy when you do it.” he says, nearly breathless.

Kyungsoo stares at him. He didn’t, this isn’t what he was going for, he thought Chanyeol would laugh at him like he had at everything else, say some jokey bro shit like he said he wanted. Kyungsoo hadn’t expected to have this sort of power over him and while he definitely logs that information away for later, he doesn’t know what to… do with it.

Kyungsoo swallows hard. He knows exactly what to do with it, but he can’t think about that right now.

“Man,” Chanyeol says, finally laughing to himself now that he seems to have recovered, “way to use a handsome face for evil.” (What does that _mean_.) “You have a girlfriend?”

It’s harmless. A harmless, honest question that doesn’t mean anything but he is literally on a date with a man and is still getting asked this, he can’t help it if it gets a little tiresome.

But his thoughts are cut short when Chanyeol exclaims, “ _Wow_ , was that an eye roll?”

Oh god, he is fucking up again, Chanyeol doesn’t _know_ him, it’s _fine_.

“Sorry, it’s just,” he starts, but Chanyeol cuts him off again.

“Say no more, it was a dumb question,” he assures him. He props his elbows on the table and rests his chin in his hands and adds with a grin, “We’re supposed to be on a date.”

It’s the earnest, innocent kind of smile that always tugs at Kyungsoo’s heart, makes him _feel things_.

“You don’t have to keep saying that, I know you wouldn’t-”

“Sure I would. A guy like you?” Chanyeol pauses just a moment to look him up and down, so quick Kyungsoo almost misses it. “Definitely.”

_Did he just admit to being into dudes, is this a fucking miracle?_ His smile has that definitely genuine quality, but his eyes have darkened in a way that Kyungsoo has only seen him do in dramas. He’s been getting better at that dark, suggestive look but this is next level shit, this is real ‘I’m checking a dude out and I like what I see’ status eye lasers that are aimed right at Kyungsoo’s chest and his-wait.

… _Did he just admit to being into me?????_

It’s their silent manager chaperone who brings their drinks over and that’s when the two photographers outside really get to work. It tears Kyungsoo away from his revelation and back to the pressing issue at hand, that is: the staged fake-y-ness of this date. He can’t stop glancing at the cameras through the window, following their every move, trying to figure out what they’re taking a picture of, getting self conscious about being the subject of every shot.

He didn’t think he suffered from stage fright, but this isn’t a stage; Kyungsoo’s on-camera experience is still miniscule and there’s no script he can turn to to keep him steady. There’s just Chanyeol sitting in front of him, sipping out of a frothy mug, being too handsome to be real and that’s really just not helping anything.

Chanyeol glances up at the cup Kyungsoo hasn’t even touched yet, then at him.

“You’re still too nervous,” he says from behind his mountain of foam. “Let’s get some caffeine in you.”

“How is that going to help,” Kyungsoo mutters into his iced whatever this is.

“If you’re hyped up on coffee, your nerves won’t be strong enough to hold you back,” he reasons. He places his mug down and poses with his chin in his fingers. “Genius, isn’t it?”

He’s got foam covering his upper lip.

The laugh explodes, unbidden, from Kyungsoo’s chest and he doubles over so far his head nearly hits the table. A grin spreads across Chanyeol’s lips as he sits there posing and it’s not doing anything to help Kyungsoo curb his laughter. That’s probably the point; he looks very proud of himself.

God, what has Kyungsoo even been nervous _about_? This is who Chanyeol is, this dorky goofball who embarasses himself on every TV appearance he’s in just to make the other guests feel at ease. This is what Kyungsoo loves about him.

“What did you even order, let me try it,” Kyungsoo says around the chuckles that just won’t die.

Chanyeol pushes his mug to him and Kyungsoo takes it, lifts the mug to his mouth to dip his lip into the foam without bothering to drink. He gives the drink back and looks up at Chanyeol expectantly.

“How’s that?”

Chanyeol bites his lip to hold in his own fit of laughter.

“Sexy.”

Then they both dissolve into giggles.

His heart still feels like it’s going to break his ribs and fall to the floor, but maybe he’ll live through this date yet.

-

The photographers probably didn’t get any of the shots they were expecting to get from the coffee shop portion of the date, but there’s no time to worry about that now that Chanyeol is excitedly navigating them to the bowling alley across town.

Of course.

Of course there’s bowling, Chanyeol loves bowling, loves being competitive and showing off and having at least this one thing he just does because he likes it. Kyungsoo isn’t god awful at least, he’s been a few times since Chanyeol started talking about how much he enjoys it. He almost knows how to throw a hook.

But he’s still nothing compared to Chanyeol, that much is immediately clear.

“Should I go easy on you?” Chanyeol asks two frames in. “Be the chivalrous type and let you win?”

“ _Don’t_ ,” Kyungsoo groans. (He doesn’t say, ‘this date is fake enough as it is.’) “I’d much rather watch you be good at bowling in person,” he mumbles as he grabs his ball from the ball return. “Maybe I’ll figure out how you do your spin…”

He doesn’t notice Chanyeol approach until he’s already right next to him, and he nearly has a heart attack when Chanyeol lays his hands over Kyungsoo’s.

“I can show you,” Chanyeol says, soft, almost too quiet to hear over the sounds of the bowling alley. “You’ve almost got it.”

Kyungsoo really doesn’t know how he’s supposed to survive being so close, how he’s supposed to cope with Chanyeol holding his hand like he keeps doing. He really hopes he’s not scaring Chanyeol away with the floppy dead fish face he knows he’s got right now but there’s nothing he can do about it when Chanyeol’s presence sets his chest on fire like this.

Chanyeol gives him a small, bashful smile that’s only a little fake. Kyungsoo isn’t quite sure how to categorize it, he hasn’t seen one quite like this before and it’s that, the fact that there are facets of Chanyeol he doesn’t yet know, that he _could_ know, that Chanyeol is willingly showing him, that paralyzes him.

“Okay,” he manages, grateful that Chanyeol set the tone so quiet because he can’t get out much more than this.

Chanyeol bites his lip, shy and some other new thing Kyungsoo hasn’t seen before, then glances down at the bowling ball between them before he backs off a little bit.

“You’ve got the finger placement right,” he says, forcibly back to normal like he’s on edge just like Kyungsoo is. “Now you’ve gotta guide the ball with both your wrist and your thumb.”

It’s weird, something weird is happening. Chanyeol is definitely still putting on airs, standing up too straight and smiling a bit too consistently like he’s ready to pose for a magazine cover at the drop of a hat but he keeps glancing at _Kyungsoo_ instead of the cameras, like the show is for him and not for the people who are literally paying him to be here. It’s… weird, it feels like they’re the kind of awkward that happens on a first date and that’s not. That’s not the kind of weird this was supposed to be.

And noticing that this clusterfuck of an outing is starting to feel like a date is just making Kyungsoo see things in literally every little thing Chanyeol does. He keeps finding excuses to touch him; an encouraging hand on Kyungsoo’s arm when they switch, a brush of their fingers as they reorganize the ball return, always accompanied by a glance and a bite to his lip. When Chanyeol claims Kyungsoo’s form could use some adjustment it is simultaneously the best and the worst and all of Chanyeol’s helpful pointers turn into garbled white noise behind the thunder of his heart trying to beat itself up his throat. It doesn’t seem to matter that Kyungsoo isn’t paying attention, however, because when Chanyeol steps back he’s got that dopey smile that makes it look like he wasn’t paying attention to a word he said either.

Kyungsoo feels giddy. What the fuck is going on.

It’s not all just stupid flirting, most of it is just… stupid. The game picks up on the fifth frame when Kyungsoo gets his first strike. They both turn to each other with huge shouts, Chanyeol leaping up from his seat and smacking Kyungsoo’s shoulder repeatedly in his excitement. He laughs at himself a second later and puts his hands awkwardly at his hips and steps back a fraction, clearly embarrassed about forgetting where he is. But Kyungsoo doesn’t want that, he doesn’t want Chanyeol remembering where they are and what they’re doing because that makes him remember and how is he supposed to have fun if he keeps thinking about what a loser he is for even entering this contest in the first place.

Chanyeol is turning towards the ball return to take his turn and Kyungsoo moves before he can think too hard about it, steps forward and punches Chanyeol square in the abs and, oh god, this is so awkward, he’s stupid, but Chanyeol laughs and acts hurt, gives Kyungsoo a real smile as he lets himself stand close again. Really, that’s all that matters, that Chanyeol smiles like he means it, that’s all that’s ever mattered.

From there every frame is a new battle. They’re not even looking at the point totals where Kyungsoo lags behind by a large margin thanks to his slow start; all that matters is if one of them gets a strike and the other doesn’t, how long they can keep a streak going, which of them will choke and fail to hit all ten pins first (it’s Kyungsoo, obviously).

It lights a fire in Chanyeol. Chanyeol can’t help but get intensely competitive; it doesn’t matter the game or the prize, he is always in it to win it. It comes out ten fold when he’s bowling, when he knows he’s good at it, when he’s got something to prove even when he doesn’t need to. Kyungsoo has never been much for competitions, but Chanyeol plays his best when he’s being challenged and there’s a special kind of appeal to him when he’s so focused with his form on point, letting out a roar every time he gets a strike.

It’s hot, okay? It’s super hot when Chanyeol gets like this. Kyungsoo doesn’t need to play to win, getting to witness this in person is his victory.

The game ends with Kyungsoo at 120 points (a new personal best) and Chanyeol with 190. Kyungsoo copies down how they did on a score pad, already thinking about framing it and displaying it above his desk like the pathetic nerd he is. Chanyeol watches him with an easy smile as he waits, lopsided and alarmingly soft. Kyungsoo swallows so he can joke it away.

“Factoring in 100 points to compensate for me not knowing how to throw a hook until the third frame-” Kyungsoo starts.

Chanyeol’s jaw drops then morphs into an incredulous laugh.

“I thought you didn’t want me to let you win! And points don’t work like that!” he cries, reaching out to try to take the pencil from Kyungsoo.

“Yeah, but if I’m not a decent challenge, then you just look like an asshole,” Kyungsoo tells him, holding it out of reach.

“You can have 30 points.”

“No, I’m pretty sure I get extra for putting up with you.”

“You like me!”

“You have no proof.”

“This whole day is proof!” Chanyeol laughs and reaches for the pencil again.

Kyungsoo isn’t sure when the date contest turned into an inside joke between the two of them instead of the primary source of shame for Kyungsoo’s entire existence, but the change is more than welcome.

They play another game and the awkward date jitters have now mostly been replaced with an easy camaraderie. Kyungsoo does better and Chanyeol does worse, too busy laughing at Kyungsoo’s brand of smack-talk to concentrate as well this round, but Chanyeol still kicks his ass. Chanyeol’s smile still sparkles when their hands brush and there’s a moment, fleeting and surreal, when Kyungsoo turns to celebrate a strike and finds Chanyeol staring at him, his eyes dark and his lip caught between his teeth, like the world is on pause and Kyungsoo is all he sees. It’s gone in a moment, when Chanyeol belatedly glances down the lane and sees the pins, and then he’s smiling and celebrating like he does every time Kyungsoo gets all 10 pins. Kyungsoo would have thought nothing of it if Chanyeol hadn’t avoided his gaze while they switched for that turn.

It turns out camaraderie is worse in the long run, because in every moment of stillness Kyungsoo has enough time to feel something suspiciously like hope, hope for something he doesn’t deserve, hope that maybe Chanyeol is feeling the same thing.

Chanyeol’s acting isn’t good enough for Kyungsoo to feel it’s unfounded.

Kyungsoo jots down the scores of the second game as Chanyeol packs his things and Kyungsoo is reminded of his childish daydream, the one where he’s charming and confident and they hit it off so well they leave the event to go on a real date. He’s a far cry from the charismatic version of himself that he cooked up in his head, but the reality of this day is so much closer to that daydream than he ever thought possible, why not shoot for the stars at this point.

“Are we allowed to change the itinerary?” Kyungsoo can’t stop himself from asking.

“Am I that bad of a date?” Chanyeol asks with a laugh.

“The opposite…” he mumbles, ducking his head to hide the flush he knows is creeping up his neck.

Chanyeol eyes him for a moment before he smiles to himself, soft and full of something Kyungsoo doesn’t trust himself to name.

“I think you won’t mind what’s next,” he says.

-

Dinner is in the glitzy part of town, every building a high rise and every storefront trying to look more sophisticated than the last. Chanyeol leads Kyungsoo to a restaurant on the 28th floor with a hand on his shoulder and Kyungsoo tries not to freak out about that and fails miserably. Luckily he’s so busy having an emotional crisis over Chanyeol continuing to touch him that he forgets to be intimidated by the floor to ceiling windows, tall backed booths, and candle lit tables that greet them when they arrive. He’s even disassociating too hard to feel nervous about the general manager of the restaurant meeting them at the door. He shakes everyone’s hand and leads them through the restaurant himself to a booth near the back where no one will notice that it’s Chanyeol that’s here.

It’s hard to pay attention to anything but Chanyeol as his fingers slide across his back when they part.

There are a few pictures as they sit down, as Chanyeol and Kyungsoo glance at each other over the menus they probably won’t even be ordering from. Kyungsoo is getting better at figuring out when and where they’re taken, at forgiving the idea that this day is a publicity event, and he tries to act natural now, to make LOEY look good for this marketing campaign.

But then the cameras drop. The photographers turn away, clicking through their shots and chatting with each other. The manager, the one that’s been silently tagging along close behind all day, claps Chanyeol on the shoulder and Chanyeol just gives him a nod and a wave. And then he turns away too, joins the photographers as they head towards the door and-

They’re alone. Well and truly alone.

Kyungsoo watches them all go, and his surprise and confusion (and maybe his horror) must show plain on his face because Chanyeol laughs at him.

“They’ll be back for dessert, don’t worry.”

“What?” Kyungsoo says, his gaze snapping back to Chanyeol.

“This part of the schedule was my idea,” Chanyeol explains as he scratches shyly at his cheek, his eyes bouncing back and forth between the menu and Kyungsoo. “I just wanted to make sure we both had a chance to be ourselves, you know?”

“So… the real date begins?”

Chanyeol’s smile has so much hidden behind it, Kyungsoo wants to pick it apart piece by piece.

“If you want it to.” Chanyeol says.

There’s a moment, a beat of stillness as the implications hit Kyungsoo square in the chest, the opportunity before him real and exactly as he’d imagined it. He doesn’t know what to do with it, how to take that first step, take full advantage of the night and grab hold of what he wants.

For some reason he says, “Is this the part where I tell you how much I love you?”

It snaps the tension that Kyungsoo may have just been imagining and Chanyeol chuckles down at his menu.

“I mean, you entered a contest to go on date with me, I think I’ve got that figured out.” He leans on the table with both arms, looking at Kyungsoo with a small smile, the effortlessly pleasant kind that’s impossible to really read. “You know enough about me. Tell me about yourself, Kyungsoo.”

It’s kind of a testament to how much he loves Chanyeol that he’s willing to answer this, the worst question in the universe. Maybe Chanyeol really does have that figured out.

Kyungsoo fiddles with the corner of his menu, contemplating where to start. He could tell him his age, about his family, how he’s more into cooking than idols, but everything feels trivial. And he doesn’t really want to talk about any of those things if he’s honest. What’s really important, the thing at the core of his heart, the thing that makes him who he is, that’s where he’ll start.

“Well, I’m an actor,” he finally says after a moment.

Chanyeol lights up with interest immediately. He puts his menu down and leans a bit closer over the table.

“Really?” Then he kind of smirks. “My influence?”

“No,” he says with a chuckle. Then he looks up, makes himself look at Chanyeol, offers up all the sincerity he can muster and tells him, “Being an actor is how I noticed you.”

The smirk falls from Chanyeol’s face and he stares, wide eyed, at Kyungsoo, mouth agape like the statement took his breath away.

“No one’s ever,” he whispers, swallows, then tries again. “You like me for my _acting_? I’m not even any good.”

“Don’t say that, you have so much enthusiasm and heart, how can anyone not fall for you when they see it,” Kyungsoo says with more force than such sentimental words would usually merit.

Chanyeol just stares, clearly taken aback, and it’s such _bullshit_ that this is surprising to him. Why is Kyungsoo the only person on this _planet_ who takes Chanyeol’s acting seriously?

“And you work so hard,” he continues, his mind tearing itself away from where he is as the frustration seeps in. He stares at the edge of the table unseeing, suddenly lost to his thoughts, lost to his anger that this is apparently news to Chanyeol, news to all of his fans, like no one’s paying attention to how much Yeolie cares and he can’t _stand_ it. “You put all of yourself into every role, into every line, and it pays off every time, you just get better and better, even over the course of a single show, you’ve improved in leaps and bounds since I started following you and it makes me feel-”

He stops, tries to catch his breath, tries to take control of his emotions before he says something stupid, but all he has left is how much Chanyeol means to him.

“It makes me feel like we’re in this together,” he hears himself say. “Like we’re both working hard and doing our best and every time you succeed it makes me so… proud, proud of your work, of what you’ve accomplished, and it makes me want to work harder to catch up to you even though you don’t know who the fuck I am, just. Seeing you grow as an actor drives me forward.”

The silence rings like a sledgehammer in his head as Chanyeol just watches him in a way he hasn’t all day, like he can see through him to everything Kyungsoo is trying to hide. Kyungsoo can’t stand it, can’t stand the scrutiny, can’t stand the embarrassment at having said out loud half the things he decided he wouldn’t. His shoulders bunch up and he stares out the window without looking at the scenery.

“… Anyway, that’s my weird, using idols as a coping mechanism thing, is it time for dessert yet?” he says quickly, rubbing the top of his nose like he has glasses to hide behind except that he doesn’t.

“That’s not bad, as far as coping mechanisms go,” Chanyeol mumbles, easily heard in the quiet of the restaurant. He flounders for a moment, and it’s excruciating except that Kyungsoo can’t decide what kind of reaction he fears the most so no reaction is better than any of his ideas.

“So you’re an actor,” Chanyeol finally says, his voice still carrying the hint of a waver. “What kind?”

Kyungsoo almost doesn’t want to answer, doesn’t trust himself to speak ever again for the rest of his life, honestly. But “getting back to the subject at hand” is pretty low on his potential disasters list, so maybe this date isn’t over yet.

“Stage acting mostly,” he says after a moment’s hesitation. “Though I’m trying to get more into on-camera.”

Chanyeol whistles like he’s impressed. “Stage acting, wow, I can’t even imagine. Which is harder, do you think?”

“It’s not harder so much as… different.”

“How so?”

Kyungsoo finally chances a glance up and finds Chanyeol leaning over the table on his elbows, his eyes wide in interest, awkwardness gone like it was never there in the first place. Maybe he didn’t ruin it, maybe he still has a chance.

So Kyungsoo tells him. He talks about the shows he’s done with his university and Chanyeol tells him what it was like on the sets of his dramas. They ask questions, swap stories, and just like that it’s back; the ease of conversation, the giddiness that comes with a first date. The conversation flows until they realize they never decided what they were going to order, but then it picks up right where it left off.

Then the food arrives and Kyungsoo inspects it a little too hard and they start talking about cooking. And somehow that leads to talking about Chanyeol’s dog, which leads to them talking about their parents which leads to school and nearly two hours pass in a flash. They talk about all the things Kyungsoo thought uninteresting and both of them are engaged and laughing the whole time. It’s effortless and fun and Chanyeol does all the things he does when he thinks there’s no cameras; he slouches and talks with his mouth full and slaps his knee when he laughs too hard and kicks Kyungsoo under the table on accident and on purpose. It’s exhilarating. Kyungsoo forgets where he is for short bursts, too involved in the conversation and Chanyeol’s enthusiasm to remind himself why he has this chance.

Chanyeol laughs and it feels like they are just two dudes being pals. Kyungsoo’s heart trips over itself; it feels like he’s seeing Chanyeol for the first time all over again. He’s shining in the dim light, mesmerizing in a way that’s completely different from all the stage performances and concerts Kyungsoo has seen.

Fuck, he’s got it bad and he can’t even be mad about it right now.

The cameras return with the appearance of dessert, just as promised, but they’re too busy talking about twitter memes to pay them much mind. Chanyeol does sit upright again, tries to curb his laughter a little bit, but it just makes Kyungsoo want to joke harder, make him slip, and Chanyeol taps his fingers and sort of pouts like he can tell.

The photographers seem much happier with the dinner footage than anything else. Probably had something to do with Kyungsoo finally relaxing enough to stop analyzing Chanyeol’s every move (that’s a lie, he just wasn’t freaked out by the results of his analysis anymore).

But then that’s it. He realizes half way through a story about Sehun reading his scripts in the middle of a courtyard that the night is over, they’re heading back to the office and then he and Chanyeol will part ways forever. Now that he’s finally not tripping over himself every time he looks at Chanyeol the wall between them is going right back where it belongs.

Why did he even fucking try so hard? What had been the point of buying twenty-eight albums and entering the contest and worrying so much about his “chances” when it all amounted to nothing?

Chanyeol parks in the familiar garage where they started, their manager chaperone slipping out of the jeep immediately. Chanyeol is reaching for his door, giving Kyungsoo a soft, maybe commiserating smile, and he can’t, Kyungsoo can’t just let it end here without saying _something_.

“Chanyeol,” he blurts, and maybe it’s the desperation in his voice, or maybe their reluctance to part is mutual, but Chanyeol pauses and drops his hand from the handle.

The words fall out of Kyungsoo’s mouth like a flood.

“I know this was just a marketing thing, but I wanted it to be a date from the start, I’m just like those kids who call you oppa, I-”

“You’re not,” Chanyeol tries to tell him, “You’re not like any fan I’ve ever met.”

“I am, I assure you,” Kyungsoo insists, but Chanyeol is apparently having none of this.

“Can I have your number?” Chanyeol finally asks and it stuns Kyungsoo into silence. “This is definitely not protocol, I just. There’s still so much I want to talk to you about,” he explains as he digs his phone out of his back pocket to hold it out to Kyungsoo.

There it is again, staring him in the face. His chance.

His fingers feel numb as he takes the phone and enters his number. He doesn’t text himself or make a new contact, just types the numbers and hands it back. Chanyeol takes his phone and reaches for Kyungsoo’s hand, pressing Kyungsoo’s fingers against his warm palm.

“I was worried, you know, about calling this contest a date,” Chanyeol tells him, bashful smile on his face. “But I’m glad we did. It was good.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t have words anymore, he’s all out. He simply nods weakly, staring up at Chanyeol hoping he doesn’t look like the biggest moron on earth and Chanyeol smiles at him like he is definitely a moron but he’s okay with it by now.

“I’ll text you,” he assures him as they part officially, the manager shaking his hand and Chanyeol offering a wave.

Kyungsoo waves back and stands frozen in front of the SM Town building after the doors close, still unsure of… what just happened. He stands there for a long time trying to figure it out, to parse through everything they did together, and is met with nothing but static.

Two hours later, when he’s finally back at his dorm and staring up at his ceiling, his phone goes off.

**Chanyeol:**  
This is chanyeol!  
Don’t give my number out pls changing it is such a pain

**Kyungsoo:**  
I wouldn’t

**Chanyeol:**  
❤️  
So about date #2  



	2. Date #2

“My life is a 24 chapters, angst, one sided pining, sad end fic.”

Jongin has the audacity to scoff at him.

“Oh please, your life isn’t worth more than 16 chapters,” he says as he flips through the non-Chanyeol content of the Chanyeol issue of Trends Health. “Besides, the only thing your fandom writes is mutual pining.”

Kyungsoo blinks up at his ceiling from where he has flopped haphazardly across his bed. It’s been the state of him for the past three days but one word from Jongin and all the memories he’s spent all this time downplaying come rushing back. He doesn’t have to put on too strong a tin-hat to imagine that they were flirting with each other. Kyungsoo is shit at flirting so it probably didn’t seem like it to Chanyeol, but Chanyeol was definitely doing… something. Maybe. He hopes.

He sits up and stares hard and Jongin.

“You really think that’s possible?”

“Soo,” Jongin starts, letting the magazine fall open on his lap. “You said it went well and knowing you that’s probably an understatement.”

“It did go well. We had fun. That doesn’t mean-”

But Jongin just rolls his eyes and turns back to the magazine with a smirk.

“Your phone went off a while ago, aren’t you gonna text Chanyeol?”

He really doesn’t need to say anything else to make his point loud and clear. Kyungsoo stares indignantly for a moment before scrambling for his phone.

This is the other confounding thing. They’re texting. They’re trying to arrange a hang out but he keeps calling it a “date” and it’s giving Kyungsoo a fucking aneurysm. Maybe he shouldn’t have let the date contest turn into an inside joke because now nothing makes sense and everything is confusing.

If they wait for them both to have a day off they’ll never see each other, as Chanyeol puts it, so they’re just trying to find any chunk of time to meet. Kyungsoo still isn’t sure how he got tricked into revealing his whole school schedule, he could so easily miss his survey of European cinema class, but Chanyeol refuses to let him miss anymore school on his account. (At least as far as their hangouts are concerned. He can’t do a damn thing about Kyungsoo going to merch releases and music show recordings.) They’ve settled on searching for a single hour of free time in literally any part of the day where they could meet at the coffee cart Chanyeol had mentioned when they first met. Very chill, very low key.

Kyungsoo already has an outfit picked out.

**Chanyeol:**  
I’m free before lunch friday! coffee?

Not chill. He’s not chill, he tries not to hyperventilate as he types his response and Jongin comes to sit next to him on the bed and lean into his side to read over his shoulder.

He’s hung out with Chanyeol before and lived. He’ll probably survive this time too. Maybe. Hopefully.

-

The woman who works the coffee cart calls him “Chanyeol-ah” and knows all three of his potential drink orders and asks for Kyungsoo’s name since he’s “Chanyeol-ah’s” friend. She’s a very jovial lady and definitely has minimal knowledge about who Chanyeol is. It’s great.

She also seems to catch on that Kyungsoo is a nervous wreck and that’s less great. She winks at him two whole times and calls Chanyeol a “keeper” at one point. Chanyeol whines at her and it’s so adorable it’s almost worth the emotional turmoil at being caught in his ongoing crush.

It’s clear that Chanyeol is in the middle of his work day because he doesn’t look like a complete mess. He’s in an oversized flannel that’s partially tucked in and black leather boots, his hair twirled up in that way that lets his bangs curve back over half his face (a _classic_ ). He knows Chanyeol’s first instinct upon stepping out of a recording is to completely ruin his hair so it’s impressive that the style is still intact. It’s a good look, honestly, top tier, but it’s… odd. He’s almost too presentable. It’s not a hoodie. The only time Park Chanyeol is not wearing a hoodie is when it’s too hot or someone makes him wear something else and even then he might still get away with it.

Kyungsoo is dressed a tad too nice because he’s got a hopeless, stupid crush. What the fuck is Chanyeol doing?

Now that he’s thinking about it, Chanyeol’s whole demeanor is also more presentable than it needs to be. He’s standing upright and taking measured steps as they walk through the park instead of doing that hunched over duck-waddle he sometimes does when he’s with people shorter than him. He doesn’t smack anything when he laughs and he’s always at least got that standard smile plastered on his face, the kind that means nothing.

Kyungsoo glances around looking for staff, fansites, anything, but it’s nothing but office workers and little old ladies in matching bucket hats walking around this park.

“But I’ve always had a soft spot for piano ever since,” Chanyeol is saying as they park themselves on a bench tucked away between the trees. He crosses and uncrosses his ankles, fiddles with the straw on his drink, and flashes Kyungsoo a smile. Even the conversation is measured, safe.

Kyungsoo hums in response and looks up at Chanyeol.

“So when are you going to stop being exactly like how you are in variety shows?” he asks outright, and Chanyeol chokes. “Not that I don’t like that part of you, but this is your free time, you should be able to relax and enjoy it.”

Chanyeol breathes out a laugh and rubs at the back of his neck.

“What if this is just my, “nervous because I want you to like me” self?” he asks, hunching over a little and now their eyes are almost level.

Kyungsoo glances down to fiddle with the straw of his own drink this time.

“I already like you…” he mumbles.

“Well, sure, you already like idol Chanyeol, but what if I want you to like regular Chanyeol better?”

It’s funny that he asks this because, after years of picking apart which things were real and which were fake, Kyungsoo has realized that there’s some truth behind everything Chanyeol does. Especially since their weird pseudo-date, he’s seen first hand how similar those two sides really are.

“It’s not a matter of which Chanyeol I like best,” Kyungsoo tells him, glancing up and hoping the sincerity shows on his face. “What matters is that I can tell that you’re happy.”

The problem with watching Chanyeol as he says this is that he also sees Chanyeol’s eyes widen and the flush spread up his neck. (Kyungsoo can feel heat curling over his own ears to match.) Chanyeol’s expression breaks out into a soft smile and it _glows_.

Kyungsoo turns away immediately.

“A-anyway, we’re friends now, stop acting like you’re on the clock when you’re with me.”

He can practically hear the stupid smile Chanyeol’s got on right now and there’s a moment of flustered silence before Chanyeol knocks their shoulders together, then he flings out his gangly legs and slouches like he normally does.

“… Hey, what happened with that paper you didn’t turn in because of me?”

Kyungsoo groans overloud and sinks unreasonably far down in his seat as Chanyeol’s laughter rings through the park, boisterous and obnoxious and music to Kyungsoo’s ears.

-

He gets a packet from SM Entertainment with information about how his photos are going to be used and where he can see the advertisements. It’s not for any sort of giant billboard campaign, thank _god_ , but he still hopes no one actually sees them ever. He knows the industry well enough to know most of the shots will be of Chanyeol, and that anything featuring both of them will be chaste as hell, but it’s still nerve wracking to be the one caught on a date with an idol.

There’s also a print. _LOEY’s pick_ , it says. It won’t be used in promotions and was specifically touched up and printed for Kyungsoo. Kyungsoo’s hand shakes as he pulls the photo from it’s little envelope.

It’s the two of them at the coffee shop. The shot is centered on both of them, the store window making a perfect frame around them as they laugh at each other with foam covering their upper lips. Kyungsoo is in the middle of passing Chanyeol’s drink back to him and, if he didn’t know better, it looks like they are reaching for each other’s hands to hold across the table. He stares at it for a long time. He hardly recognizes himself, hardly recognizes Chanyeol, can hardly wrap his head around the fact that he was there, that this is him, that it’s real.

Kyungsoo doesn’t generally cry, but the tears come easily as he imagines what it would be like for them to be as in love as they look in this photo.

-

**Chanyeol:**  
Kyungsoo  
I need you  
My friends challenged us to a bowling match, we need to crush them

It feels like a trap, honestly, because Chanyeol is _famous_ and so his friends are _also famous_. How is he supposed to prepare himself for this, this double whammy on his nerves? Should he be more concerned about getting Chanyeol’s friends to like him or should he be freaking out because they are all actual celebrities? Or, better yet, he could have a mental shutdown over having to meet new people, since there’s an 80% chance their first impression of him will be godawful. The triple threat that is this outing isn’t going to help those odds.

They agree to meet at the bowling alley and Kyungsoo finds them huddled around the ball return shoving each other and laughing. It’s easy to see that the three of them are close and Kyungsoo is hesitant to interrupt them even when he knows they are literally waiting for him. One of them catches sight of Kyungsoo before he can hesitate for too long and he flashes Kyungsoo a curvey smile and a wave. Chanyeol spins around so fast he nearly smacks his friends and then he lights up like New Years.

Kyungsoo is never going to get used to that expression being directed at him.

“Kyungsoo!!!” Chanyeol shouts as he bounds over. He comes around to take Kyungsoo by the shoulders and forcibly move him towards their lane like he knew Kyungsoo was going to be paralyzed right off and has already decided what to do about it.

“Guys, this is Kyungsoo,” He tells them as if they hadn’t clearly figured that out already. “Soo, these are my buddies, Jongdae and Baekhyun.”

Oh, _just his buddies_ , Chanyeol says like he didn’t just introduce Chen and Baek of CBX, sure. They are not even taller than Kyungsoo but they look like mountains. Beautiful, charming mountains. Kyungsoo feels lost. Lost and out of place and ready to get swallowed by the floor anytime now please.

Admittedly he only recognizes Jongdae because he did a collab with Chanyeol once and it was the brightest, most feel good song in existence. And Baekhyun he only knows because he is just loud and everywhere; he’s probably the only person in SM’s lineup who is more popular than LOEY.

“Hey!” Baekhyun says and they both look at Kyungsoo expectantly.

“Uh,” Kyungsoo says in lieu of a greeting, obviously.

“Yeol,” Baek deadpans as he immediately turns to Chanyeol. “You told him we were coming, right?”

“I did!” Chanyeol insists.

To be fair, he totally did warn Kyungsoo. If he recalled correctly it was a text along the lines of, _they’re in cbx, they’re really great! You’ll love them_. Not horrendously informative, considering Chanyeol thinks highly of everyone he knows, but these are the first friends Kyungsoo is meeting so they must be important to him. They seem like-minded; it will be like dealing with three Chanyeols at once. Easy.

Actually, that doesn’t help.

“God, sorry,” Kyungsoo says, forcing himself to take a deep breath. “I’m not usually like this.”

“Yeah, it’s usually just me,” Chanyeol snickers.

“Not anymore, shut up,” Kyungsoo mutters with a jab at Chanyeol’s ribs.

Chanyeol takes his hits with a grin that takes up his whole face.

“Let’s bowl, losers,” Baekhyun snaps.

“That’s gonna be you guys, you haven’t seen Kyungsoo in action,” Chanyeol assures them. He’s standing tall, proud enough for the both of them as Kyungsoo sits to change his shoes.

“I’m preemptively impressed,” Jongdae says. Baekhyun appears to take great offense as if he’s been betrayed.

Kyungsoo chances a glance up at Chanyeol. He’s in an oversized t-shirt and ripped jeans, but Kyungsoo sees the hoodie slung over the chair next to him that is too large to be anyone else’s. It’s silly that it puts Kyungsoo at ease, but it’s always the little things that count, right?

“So who the heck even are you, Kyungsoo?” Baekhyun asks as he flops into a seat after taking his first turn. There’s four pins down. Jongdae shoves him as he stands to take his own turn.

How is he supposed to answer? God forbid he wants to know how he and Chanyeol met, Kyungsoo doesn’t want anyone hearing that story ever, but what else could he mean? Kyungsoo is clearly the odd man out here, Baekhyun must want to know how he found an in.

He forces his mouth open to answer, but Chanyeol fills in before disaster can strike.

“He’s an actor!” he says excitedly.

Oh.

Baekhyun, clearly not expecting that answer, perks up.

“Oh really?” he asks, his countenance completely turned around, suddenly tuned in and interested. Kyungsoo can’t keep up. “Dude, I don’t know how it happened, but I got cast in a period drama, gimme some pointers.”

Kyungsoo thinks for a moment as Jongdae throws, the ball following the same path as Baekhyun’s and hitting nothing.

“Hmm, take everything too seriously,” he finally says.

Jongdae barks a laugh. “That’s solid,” he says. “Are you with an agency?”

It’s Chanyeol’s turn, so Kyungsoo is on his own from here on out.

“University.”

“Not a bad in,” Baekhyun muses. Then he slouches down in his seat like he is the king of the bowling alley castle. “Well I have no doubt you’ll do well with Chanyeol in your corner. In show biz it’s not what you know, it’s who you know.”

Oh god. The only thing worse than being caught as a LOEY fan is someone assuming he’s _using_ Chanyeol. He could never.

“I didn’t…” Kyungsoo starts, but Baekhyun quickly waves him away.

“Oh, I’m not calling you a gold digger or whatever, I’m just saying. Use the resources available and whatnot.”

“You have us now too,” Jongdae tells him with an easy smile, “Though I don’t know how much help Baekhyun and I could be.”

Kyungsoo just knows his mouth is hanging open very stupid right now, his jaw slack in surprise. Maybe they do raise idols differently or maybe Chanyeol chose great people as his friends, because this is generosity that Kyungsoo doesn’t deserve, that he hasn’t earned. But Jongdae is smiling like sunshine on a cloudy day and Baekhyun is smirking at him like he’s planning the prank that will initiate him into their group. He’ll have to make sure he deserves it by the time it happens.

“… I appreciate that,” Kyungsoo says once he regains his bearings. “I’ll do what I can for you guys too.”

“Can you believe this,” Chanyeol whines when he barges back into the conversation, latching onto Kyungsoo’s shoulders and nearly tipping them both over. “This guy had a showcase and I didn’t even get to go see it.”

“It was for the drama department, I couldn’t invite you if I tried,” Kyungsoo reminded him, trying to keep them upright, but admittedly not keen on Chanyeol letting him go ever.

“He doesn’t want me to see him act!”

“I don’t wanna see _you_ act,” Baekhyun taunts.

“Hey!” Chanyeol cries at the same time Kyungsoo says, “He’s getting better.”

Chanyeol positively beams at him and, okay, he needs to get out of here before his face combusts.

-

“Yeol!” Baekhyun shouts after the first game, chucking a crumpled up receipt at him. “Buy me fries!”

“Why do I have to do it?”

“I want chicken wings,” Jongdae chimes in.

Chanyeol grumbles, but he’s already standing up.

“You want anything, Soo?” He asks softly, his hand on Kyungsoo’s shoulder and, oh, the fluttery date feelings are back, in this very public place.

Kyungsoo swallows them down and says, “I’ll just eat Baekhyun’s fries.”

“I’ll get us some fries,” Chanyeol laughs and lets his fingers linger on Kyungsoo as he slips away.

Kyungsoo watches him go, positive that he just dreamed up the last ten seconds and is trying desperately not to wake up. Baekhyun and Jongdae watch him too and Jongdae starts laughing as soon as he’s out of earshot.

“I’ve never seen Chanyeol try so hard,” he says, craning his neck to keep an eye on him at the counter. “Boy’s got it bad.”

Kyungsoo turns back to them so fast he’s pretty sure his neck cracks.

“Yeah, we’re talking about you,” Baekhyun shots at him, more aggressive than he probably means based on what Kyungsoo has managed to figure out about him. “You guys are gross.”

Jongdae’s laughing also cuts down any harshness to him.

“We’ve seen Chanyeol flirt and this is something else entirely,” he explains with a devilish curl to the edge of his smile that makes him look like the Cheshire cat.

Kyungsoo really wants a detailed explanation on everything that sentence contains but he doesn’t have time because Chanyeol is already done paying.

“I hope you’re worth it,” Baekhyun adds and it sounds flippant, like a casual observation, but then he glances over to Kyungsoo and his eyes are piercing, pointed. If looks could kill then this one would be implanting a bomb in Kyungsoo’s chest, ready to detonate the moment he fucks up.

No pressure.

Chanyeol returns and, now that Kyungsoo is looking for it, he can see it. It’s definitely different, the rambunctious jokes he shares with Baekhyun and Jongdae versus the patience he always shows Kyungsoo. Is that because Chanyeol is closer to his friends or does he view Kyungsoo differently? Is he still looking at Kyungsoo like the outsider fan he is or is it something else?

He tries not to think too hard on that right now when Chanyeol is flashing him another grin, bowling ball in hand ready to throw another strike. Kyungsoo has more important things to focus on, like watching Chanyeol be competitive and sexy. (Wow, Baekhyun is right, they are gross.)

It’s not much of a showdown in the end; Jongdae is abysmal at bowling and Baekhyun is probably at the same level as Kyungsoo. But it was never about the challenge, it was about meeting his friends and seeing how they all fit together, perhaps even welcoming Kyungsoo into their circle. Kyungsoo ends the night with two new contacts in his phone and three texts from Baekhyun before he even gets home.

He eventually even meets Minseok and being friends with all three of them makes Kyungsoo feel obligated to actually listen to CBX’s music. They’re a little more aggressively pop than Chanyeol, but he knows them now and that makes him more inclined to listen.

Friends. They’re _idols_ but Chanyeol has him thinking of them all as his friends. And maybe they are, maybe it is just that easy and he’s not entirely the outsider he thinks he is.

He thinks about how Chanyeol had stepped in close before they parted ways, his hand on Kyungsoo’s elbow, assuring him softly that they’d see each other soon, and desperately hopes it’s true.

-

Chanyeol starts up a vlive broadcast at 10:40 pm, a classic Goodnight LOEY show featuring him eating cup noodles in his room. It’s the perfect excuse to take a break from procrastinating on homework so Kyungsoo loads up the website, makes the video full screen, then leans back to watch.

“Everyone,” Chanyeol practically shouts around the noodles he already has in his mouth. He stops, shakes his head like a wet puppy, then starts again in a stage whisper this time.

“Hello everyone, I’m Loey and it’s time for bed.”

Chanyeol’s phone is right next to him on his desk with no notification indicator which is a miracle, honestly, and probably also only a matter of time. Chanyeol always has an unread notification when they’re together but he also knows that Chanyeol never checks his phone when he’s with someone if he can help it. That’s how they can be in the middle of a text conversation and then suddenly there’s radio silence from Chanyeol for eight hours straight. Kyungsoo is just glad his friendship isn’t hindering Chanyeol’s work. Kyungsoo, on the other hand, has gotten yelled at several times for checking his phone in class or during rehearsal. It’s only because Chanyeol’s free time is so rare and precious, it needs his full attention.

Kyungsoo plucks his own phone off his desk and opens it to the conversation he had been having with Chanyeol four hours ago about Baekhyun’s last TV appearance. They’ve been doing this more lately, just talking about whatever. Kyungsoo has even initiated a few conversations, and he had buried his head under his pillow the first few times he did it until Chanyeol had had time to respond, but he’s getting better. Now he’s just a little bit jittery until he gets a reply.

Kyungsoo glances back up at the broadcast. Chanyeol always texts him before he goes to bed and Kyungsoo knows he’s free right now. Sort of.

“Oppa, eat well,” Chanyeol reads from the comments out loud. “Thanks! I hope you ate well too. Don’t eat right now though, it's so late, don't be like me.”

Kyungsoo smiles at his computer. It’s Chanyeol’s sweet, earnest smile. A ‘soft boyfriend look’ as they call it. Kyungsoo would normally comment on the live stream in a moment like this, but he’s got better options now.

**Kyungsoo:**  
Remember when I called you oppa?

Chanyeol glances down at his phone when the notification goes off, then he chokes. Soup sputters from his mouth as he tries to cough and swallow at the same time and he gasps when he finally manages it, pounding his chest to help the noodles go down. He has to scramble to clean up, glancing all around and flailing his lanky arms as he practically trips out of his chair.

Wow, he is such a disaster.

Someone makes a gif of the moment instantly and Kyungsoo likes it, retweets it, saves it to his phone, and takes a screenshot of the most unflattering second of it to turn into his phone background. It’s perfect. Chanyeol is so cute. Kyungsoo really loves him.

Chanyeol is a little flustered for a solid five minutes after that. He stays on the broadcast for a little while longer, finishing off his noodles, reading comments, talking about what tomorrow will bring. Kyungsoo can’t stop smiling as he watches; it’s been awhile since Chanyeol has done such a quality vlive.

The broadcast ends and immediately Kyungsoo’s phone vibrates.

**Chanyeol:**  
DO KYUNGSOO YOU EVIL MAN  
I ALMOST DIED TONIGHT

**Kyungsoo:**  
it was cute

-

It’s nearly two months of this, of mini outings for coffee or street snacks, playing sports with Chanyeol’s friends who suck at them, and chit chatting via text for twenty minute spurts throughout the day. He’s still calling their short hangouts “dates” but he doesn’t call them dates when it’s more than just them two and the pattern is alarmingly consistent considering how long the joke has gone on. They’ve never had time for anything else and Chanyeol never seems overly exhausted or wrung out around him, but he does admit that he hasn’t had a real break since album promotions.

_I’m not allowed to talk about it_ , Chanyeol tells him over text, _but it’s concert prep._

And wow, all is forgiven with that news, he is so ready. He is going to go to every show, splurge on front row seats, make a sign that says “oppa” or “crush me with your bowling ball” or something stupid like that. He’s thinking about where to buy poster board and markers as Chanyeol keeps texting him.

**Chanyeol:**  
I see in my future  
A FREE EVENING!!!  
You’re out of class by 5 on thurs right?  
Wanna get dinner?

All of Kyungsoo's craft ideas burst into flame. Dinner? As in, a whole evening? As in more than an hour, not being anywhere distracting just paying attention to each other? He’s having a stroke, he is going to pass out, why isn’t Jongin over to talk him through this crisis? Getting dinner sounds so much more like a date than anything else they’ve done and Chanyeol hasn’t even had the chance to call it that yet. Was he even still interested? (Be real, Kyungsoo, was he ever interested?)

The beauty of text is that Chanyeol can’t see him have an existential crisis every time he invites him out. Kyungsoo takes deep, measured breaths to pretend to calm down. Chanyeol has been calling them dates from the start like it was nothing. He could do the same, no big deal. He lets his fingers type the words and hits send before he can let himself read it.

**Kyungsoo:**  
It’s a date.

-

Chanyeol isn’t wearing a hoodie again.

Kyungsoo’s brain goes into overdrive trying to think of why this outing would be different from the others, some kind of hint as to why Chanyeol has changed up his style again for the first time since their first coffee run. Maybe it’s simply because they’re having hotpot (unlikely). But maybe it’s because _Kyungsoo_ called it a date this time.

He knew that had been a terrible idea.

The restaurant has curved booths which kyungsoo thinks must be part of the appeal as Chanyeol excitedly encourages him all the way in so that they're sitting next to each other. Chanyeol’s smile could blind a man and he’s basically bouncing in his seat as he lets Kyungsoo get settled.

“Someone had a good day, I take it?” Kyungsoo asks, putting his coat aside.

“I knew I’d get to see you at the end of it, so it’s been the best,” Chanyeol tells him with a bump to his shoulder.

Kyungsoo’s chest flutters happily. It’s impossible to quell his butterflies and think rationally when Chanyeol looks at him like this, when he sits so close and smiles at him like Kyungsoo is his favorite person. It hasn’t died down since they met and it’s impossible to get used to, impossible not to get his hopes up.

It’s making him crazy.

Kyungsoo glances down to catch his breath, then jabs Chanyeol in the ribs, falling into the familiar rhythm of their usual greetings.

“Tell me what’s good here, I’m starving.”

-

“Our crab buddy is so lonely and sad now,” Chanyeol laments, tapping the empty crab shell so that it drifts and bumps into the other meager leftovers in their soup.

Their whole table is a hectic mess of mostly empty plates and bowls, the aftermath of an evening well spent eating more food than should be humanly possible for two people by themselves. They’d sampled a huge chunk of the menu with Chanyeol constantly putting in more orders just to see what Kyungsoo thought of it and each plate inspiring a critique discussion the likes of which Kyungsoo has never gotten to indulge in before. It was the best. He couldn’t wait for Chanyeol to have more free evenings so they could go on more foodie outings, Kyungsoo’s two favorite things in one fun, exhilarating package.

“We could order another round of kimchi and feed it to him,” Kyungsoo says, slumped against the back of the booth ready for his food coma. “Then we could eat him again.”

The joke hits Chanyeol harder than he anticipated and his laughter knocks him into Kyungsoo so that he practically collapses onto him. He lays his head on Kyungsoo’s shoulder as his chuckles slowly subside.

“God, Kyungsoo, I like you so much,” Chanyeol mutters into his shirt and looks completely content to remain there for the rest of the evening.

It feels like ice shoots up Kyungsoo’s spine and stabs through his heart. What is this, what is happening? He wants to put his arm around Chanyeol, wants to _kiss him_ , and the only thing that’s weird is how easy it would be. Chanyeol is being so fucking cute right now and he’s pretty sure this is textbook flirting, but the thing about textbooks is that they’re mostly overpriced bullshit. Kyungsoo has never really known where he stands with Chanyeol, he’s just been following along blindly like there’s a treat on a string and he’s desperate to keep up. He’s so lost between what should be real and what could be that he doesn’t know up from down anymore.

Chanyeol does eventually pull away, albeit reluctantly, and he glances bashfully up at Kyungsoo until he sees Kyungsoo’s indecision. The cute, flirty aura melts away and is replaced with a question.

“Why are you confused, you know we’re dating, right?”

What. Is. _Air_.

“I thought that was a joke,” Kyungsoo chokes out dumbly.

“What?” Chanyeol exclaims, and he practically _deflates_. “That’s such a shit joke Soo, I wouldn’t do that. Do you really think I’ve been kidding?”

Chanyeol takes his hand and Kyungsoo stares at how Chanyeol rubs his thumb over his knuckles, unable to process the shift in his reality fast enough to properly react.

“That’s what I’ve been telling myself so I don’t do anything weird…” he admits.

“Weird like what?” Chanyeol asks, ducking his head to try and catch Kyungsoo’s gaze. “Like holding my hand? Kissing me?”

Kyungsoo swallows audibly and, honestly, that’s more than answer enough.

“Kyungsoo-yah,” Chanyeol whines, tugging at his arm as he wiggles in frustration and it’s adorable, fuck, “We’re dating, why won’t you kiss meeee?”

“I want to do way more than kiss you…” Kyungsoo mutters, then immediately freezes.

It’s too late. Chanyeol heard him. He’s staring at him with wide eyes, but his smile is weird. Measured. Dying to burst through.

“God, why did I say that.”

“Wait, if that’s true, why won’t you make any moves?” Chanyeol asks, tilting his head curiously.

“Because I don’t want to be fucking creepy?” Kyungsoo shoots back.

“Kyungsoooo,” he whines again, tipping his head back and now he’s smiling, seeing how their expectations have just missed each other. “We’re dating, I like you, why don’t you get that?”

Kyungsoo’s throat clamps up around the excuses he doesn’t have. He doesn’t get that they’re dating because that’s supposed to be impossible. He doesn't get that Chanyeol likes him because that’s just his fantasy. Chanyeol looking at him like this, with this soft expression, tilting his head and leaning in close, it’s a fever dream.

Chanyeol lets go of his hand to gently cup his elbow as he leans in, his gaze focused on Kyungsoo’s mouth before he glances back up. Kyungsoo’s eyes can’t pick a thing to look at as he tips forward to meet him halfway, clutching at Chanyeol’s shirt like his life depends on it.

It’s just the barest brush of lips, the soft caress of skin that tastes like the spicy broth of the soup they shared. Kyungsoo tries to breathe in the sensation, to hold the memory of Chanyeol so close and gentle in his chest so he can always have it tucked away in his heart. Even when Chanyeol pulls away, he is still so close. Kyungsoo breathes out heavily as he savors it.

He would treasure this moment for the rest of his life.

And that was precisely the fucking problem.

“Are you making fun of me?” he asks, not daring to open his eyes yet.

There’s a second of stillness. He can’t see the face Chanyeol is making and he really doesn’t want to.

“Why don’t you believe that I like you?” Chanyeol asks so quiet, still close enough that his breath ghosts across Kyungsoo’s skin. When Kyungsoo looks up he’s still looking at him with soft, patient eyes.

“Because I’m a fan,” Kyungsoo tells him. “I have giant posters of you, I own every magazine you’ve ever been in, I follow fansites and tabloids and think of you as an idol more than a person-”

Chanyeol stops him with a hand to his face, his thumb brushing the swell of Kyungsoo’s cheek.

“You don’t. You see me for my passions and put my happiness before your own.” Chanyeol’s mouth tilts up into a small smirk as he adds, “Plus, if you're this worried about it, I'm pretty sure you're doing alright.”

Kyungsoo doesn’t believe that, but Chanyeol does. He can see it on his face.

“You can kiss me, you know. I want you to.”

Two months of telling himself to slow down, of reminding himself that he’s only seeing what he wants to see, evaporates. Chanyeol can’t possibly be more clear and there’s no more ambiguity for Kyungsoo to hide behind. He steels himself and surges forward before he can find more.

Apparently, his ability to kiss also evaporates.

Chanyeol snorts against his mouth.

“Relax and just kiss me,” he laughs.

It’s the laughter that does it, that recalls his heart from it’s stress ridden quarantine and lets him relax, lets him _feel_. Kyungsoo’s brain finally catches on to what’s happening, that everything he’s ever wanted he really can and does have. He can stand at his side, hold his hand, and kiss Park Chanyeol as much as he damn well pleases.

And he’s always wanted to kiss Chanyeol, he recalls, in a very particular way. He’s always wanted to cherish and dote on Chanyeol in the way that only a kiss can.

Chanyeol is still cupping Kyungsoo’s jaw below his ear and Kyungsoo leans into it as he tips forward again. Chanyeol is more than happy to meet him halfway. There’s still spicy soup and hesitance on their lips, but there’s something gratifying in that too, in finding another piece of Chanyeol to know and to savor. He lets Kyungsoo take the lead, pliant under his mouth, and the languid slide of their lips has Kyungsoo falling deeper than he truly thought possible. They both linger just a breath apart, caught between the newness and a gentle tug of desire that Kyungsoo knows he’ll never shake.

Chanyeol hums, deep and enticing, as he drags his thumb across Kyungsoo’s bottom lip.

“Knew these would be nice to kiss.”

“…Do I wanna know how long you’ve been thinking that?”

Chanyeol smirks, cheeky and pleased as punch. “Since the first date, of course.”

Kyungsoo huffs with his cheapest imitation of annoyance and it makes Chanyeol chuckle as they finally break apart.

“You know, this explains a lot,” Chanyeol muses. “It was weird getting mixed signals from someone who I know likes me.”

Kyungsoo groans as his head hits the table, the reality of his very mixed signals hitting him all at once. But the ring of Chanyeol’s laughter is worth the embarrassment, it always is.

Later while they walk off the hotpot in the chill night air, Kyungsoo’s hand linked with Chanyeol’s in his pocket, Chanyeol laughs to himself.

“I can’t believe you thought we weren’t dating when you’re the one who said you wanted to date me in the first place,” Chanyeol says with a smirk.

“I didn’t realize you agreed,” Kyungsoo tells him.

“I was calling them dates the whole time!”

He certainly was. Kyungsoo glances away as the embarrassment flushes up his neck.

“... Sorry.”

“Don’t be, I get it now,” Chanyeol says easily. He smiles, content, up at the sky. “It was your way of making sure you didn’t ask too much of me. I know you worry about that.”

Kyungsoo hides much of himself; his dreams, his panic attacks, how much he fucking loves certain pop idols. But he’s glad that, despite his efforts, Chanyeol can still see through him to the important things that he doesn’t know how to say.

“I mean, I’ve always wanted to date you, but if you didn’t want it then it’s-”

Chanyeol squeezes his hand. He looks down at Kyungsoo and his smile warms Kyungsoo’s whole chest.

“I want it. I definitely want to.”

Kyungsoo allows the butterflies this time. He knows it’s okay that they’re there now.

“Okay,” he says, his voice a whisper because it’s all he can manage. “Then… I’m glad.”

He squeezes Chanyeol’s hand back. Chanyeol laughs softly in delight, his whole face as bright as the first day of summer.

It’s never been so easy to step in close and be welcomed with eager arms. And, despite how he tried to deny himself, it’s been this easy from the start. Kyungsoo looks up at Chanyeol’s dumb puppy-dog face with that thousand watt smile and feels more content, feels more in love than he ever has in his life. There’s a flutter in his chest every time their eyes meet and it’s not because it’s LOEY.

It’s because it’s Chanyeol.  


**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [twitter.](https://twitter.com/ExoMomFriend)


End file.
